Tale of Two Turks A Trilogy
by Dakota-Jones
Summary: Cloud didn't know the story behind two of Reno's most distinguishing features was so complicated but Rude will finally set the story straight on the issue of scars vs. tattoos. And it isn't what Cloud expects in the least. Very light CloudxReno, part 13.
1. Chapter 1

"Reno! Get off my bar!"

Rude winced as he heard a crashing sound, but he didn't turn around. He didn't need to when he could guess what happened just from Tifa's angry yelling and Reno's slurred voice saying, "I'm okay! I meant to do that!"

Rude took another slow drink from his mug, leaning back in the chair with a sigh. Yet another normal night, where they start out just planning to have a couple drinks, and Reno ends up getting thrown out by his ponytail for his outrageous behavior. He was considering pulling Reno out of the bar before Tifa kicked them out when the redhead's blonde boyfriend sat down in the chair next to him.

"You don't look too happy," Cloud said softly, sober, as always. He'd seemed more chipper than usual for nearly a month now- coincidentally, ever since he and Reno had finally decided to try something a little more complicated than their passive-aggressive love-hate flings.

"Do I ever appear happy?" Rude asked, and Cloud laughed softly.

"That's a good point," he said, glancing over at the bar, probably to make sure Reno wasn't causing any more trouble. Not that Cloud would have stopped him; he usually left that to Rude. "I don't see how you've handled him this long."

"You learn fast, working with him."

"I figured as much."

Another loud thud, and Rude glanced over his shoulder to see Reno leaning across the bar, trying to convince Tifa to give him another drink. She was having none of that, which wasn't really a surprise. Reno had obviously had far too much already, only two hours into the night.

"Maybe we should…"

Cloud chuckled. "Tifa can handle him. Let him have his fun."

Rude decided Cloud was right, and turned back to nursing his drink. Cloud continued to stare at Reno, smiling, though it was barely noticeable.

"So I'm assuming those tattoos on his face were a result of a night like this?" he asked Rude, and Rude smirked.

"Only one is a tattoo."

"Only one?"

"Yes."

Cloud paused, tilting his head. "You're going to have to explain that one, I think."

"It's a rather long story."

"I've got the time. And you're off duty."

Rude hesitated. He wasn't really fond of storytelling, but he knew if Reno told Cloud how everything had happened instead of him, it would be embellished and polished beyond recognition.

"Well…I suppose it started soon after I met him…"

* * *

_Of all the Turks…of all the Shinra soldiers, even…they had to partner me with this idiot._

Rude glanced at the redhead again, who was intently studying the mission plan they'd been given, quiet for what seemed like the first time since they'd been introduced. Everything about the new Turk disgusted him; the obnoxious comments, the messy uniform, the flamboyant hair, the smartass attitude…without even opening his mouth, Reno had managed to make Rude madder than he'd been in years.

"Tuck in your shirt," Rude growled.

"Cut off your hair."

"What?"

Reno looked up with a smirk. "Partners, right? I do somethin' for you, you do somethin' for me. I tuck in my shirt, you cut off your hair."

"What's wrong with my hair?" Rude asked, running a hand through the thick, dark brown curls on his head.

"It's ugly, yo."

"Would you rather I make my head into a beacon?" Rude pointed out, glaring pointedly at Reno's hair.

"You're not gettin' us off on a good foot, partner."

"Don't call me that."

Reno quirked an eyebrow. "Why not? Aren't we-"

"You're not my partner. You're a temporary replacement. Don't get any ideas."

Reno looked as if he was about to reply, but then the car pulled to a stop in the middle of an alley. Rude left the car, adjusting his collar and checking their surroundings.

"_Teach him some discipline,_" he remembered President Shinra saying. "_Give him some…refinement._"

Right now, that task seemed impossible.

Reno got out of the car and stretched, his smooth skin looking even more pale in the dim light, and his bright blue eyes standing out more than ever. The young man was lanky, hardly intimidating, which made Rude wonder what talents he had that made him worthy of earning the title 'Turk'. So far he'd proven nothing to his 'partner'.

"You ready?" Reno asked Rude, breaking him out of his thoughts. Rude nodded, hitting the car twice, signaling the driver to take position to pick them up when the job was done.

"Let's go."

For the next few minutes, as they made their way toward the target, Rude thought Reno might actually be taking this mission seriously. He was focused, intense, moving quietly through the alleyways, and appeared to be psyching himself up for the kill.

Of course, that was wishful thinking.

"Why don't we just break in through a window? Won't they be guarding the doors?"

Rude snorted. "The mission plan says we're to break in through the back door."

"I saw the blueprints. If we use the office window on the east side, we'll only have to go through two rooms and upstairs instead of five."

"We have to stick to the plan."

"Could get done ten minutes early. You may be a suit, yo, but I know you don't wanna be here any longer than you have to."

Rude scowled. He remembered the blueprints; he knew Reno was right. Using the window seemed to be much faster, and less noticeable as well. It seemed odd that the plan didn't take that into consideration.

But Rude had never deviated from the mission plan in his year and a half of holding the title 'Turk'. The mission plan had never failed him. Why change now?

"C'mon," Reno said, stopping on the corner across the street from their target. "This whole thing is easy anyway. Shaving off a little time can't hurt."

Rude looked over at the building. All the lights were out, but he could see two shadowy shapes by the front door- guards. If there were guards at the front door, he was fairly certain there would be guards at the back door as well.

Maybe Reno was right. Maybe he should give the rookie the benefit of the doubt.

"…Fine."

Reno grinned and slapped Rude on the back. "Knew you weren't _that_ much of a tight ass," he said, starting across the street. Rude rolled his eyes and followed.

By the time he caught up Reno was at the window, studying the lock on it. Rude looked at it as well; a standard flip-lock, no alarms rigged on the window.

"Leave this to me," Reno said with a wink, pulling a knife out of his belt and setting the tip of it against the window. He used the inside of his wrist to lightly tap it till the glass cracked, a spider web design forming in the pane. He moved the knife to where two cracks intersected, tapped twice, and the small section fell out, clattering on the window ledge inside.

Both Turks froze. No sound came from inside.

Reno reached in and flipped the lock, then put his knife away and slid the window open, peering inside.

"There's a desk we can land on," he whispered, backing up. Before Rude could ask what the hell he was doing, the redhead took a running leap through the window, doing a rolling landing across the desk and landing on his feet on the floor. Rude gaped; the entire act had been nearly silent.

"Come on!" Reno hissed, and Rude moved toward the window, still a bit shocked. He clambered up and inside, with far less grace than the lithe Turk who went before him.

"Took you long enough," Reno said as Rude climbed off the desk. "You ready?"

Rude grunted and stepped forward- and immediately a shrill alarm began to ring.

Lasers. There were laser alarms rigged in this room, and he'd obviously stepped right into one.

Within moments Rude heard footsteps in the hallway, and he growled, sending Reno a lead-melting glare. Reno gave him a sheepish smile.

"Okay. So I can see why they wanted us to use the door. My mistake."

All hell broke loose. The door burst open and the gunfire started, and Rude ducked out of the way, dropping down behind the nearest desk. Reno did no such thing; Rude heard a metallic series of snaps, and then he looked up in time to see Reno aim a metal rod at their attackers and press a red button on the handle. Bolts of electricity left the end of it, there were some screams, then three distinct thuds.

He slowly stood up, looking first at the three bodies on the floor, then at Reno. The redhead was already moving, stepping over the still-twitching guards to the door.

"What the hell is that thing?" Rude hissed, following Reno.

"New experimental weapon. It's electromagnetic," Reno said, checking the hallway. "They wanted me to test it out."

"They gave _you_ that? Willingly?"

"The stairs are down here, right?"

Rude sighed, then nodded. They found the stairwell and took it to the second floor.

_Something isn't right_, Rude thought. _All that gunfire, and no one comes to check things out?_

"We should withdraw. I have a bad feeling about this," he said softly, and Reno scoffed at him.

"This is a piece of cake. Kill the guy and leave. We can still do this," he said, walking up to the door where they'd been told their mark would be. Rude didn't even have a chance to object before Reno kicked the door open.

No one was in the room. Reno stepped inside without the slightest bit of caution, checking behind the door.

"What the hell-"

Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light, and everything went black.

* * *

"I hate you."

"Aw, come on, partner. It isn't _that _bad."

"Isn't that bad? Thanks to your bright ideas, I'm tied to a chair."

"I am too, if it's any consolation."

"It would be consolation if they'd just shot you."

The door opened and a man walked in- the man they'd been assigned to kill, accompanied by two guards. Terrence Fawke, that was his name, according to the mission plan. Fawke walked over to stand in front of Rude, a smirk on his face.

"I never expected Turks to be stupid enough to walk right into a trap," he said, and though Rude was tempted to blame Reno, he kept his mouth shut. The man circled around to Reno, where Rude could no longer see him since the chairs were back to back.

"We've been keeping an eye on you Turks for quite some time…haven't seen you around," the man said. "Must be a new hire. Guards, we'll take this one first."

The guards moved past Rude and untied Reno from the chair, and Rude heard the snaps and clicks of handcuffs and shackles being applied. The guards pulled a struggling Reno from the room, and Fawke started to follow, but hesitated next to Rude.

"I hope you weren't too fond of him," he said softly before continuing on out of the room. As soon as the door fell shut Rude began looking around, trying to pinpoint anything that could help him escape. He wasn't sure how long Reno could hold up to torture.

The room was small, dark, and sparse. There wasn't much of anything he could use to try and loosen or cut the ropes binding him, and nothing within reach, anyway. He scooted his chair a little, trying to get a look at the other side of the room.

A sudden scream of pain from down the hall broke his concentration. In some ways, it was a good thing; as long as Reno was screaming, it meant he wasn't giving in and telling them everything.

Rude thought he'd be ecstatic to know that the kid was getting what he deserved for messing up this mission so bad. Instead, he felt a bit panicked and rushed, desperate to get down there and help his fellow Turk. But these people knew what they were doing; there was no way to escape his current situation.

So all he could do was sit there and listen to the screams. He'd heard it before, in fact been the cause of such screams, but it was different when it was your partner making those sounds and you were helpless, unable to do anything about it.

_He's not your partner._

It was nearly an hour before the screaming dropped off, then stopped completely. Minutes later the door opened and an unconscious, unshackled Reno was thrown to the floor of the room. He didn't even look alive.

"Him. Bring him," Fawke said, obviously furious as he gestured to Rude. Rude was untied, handcuffed, and shackled, and he took one last look at Reno before they dragged him from the room. There were no signs of life. Rude suddenly felt a pang of guilt at the last thing he'd said to Reno.

They led him into a different room and pushed him down into an odd looking chair- one that smelled vaguely of burning flesh. Fawke followed them in, his face red with anger.

"I'll give you one chance to make this easy for both of us, or you'll end up dead too," he snapped, standing in front of Rude. "He knew that Hojo is working for ShinRa now. We want to know what he's being paid to do."

_Like I would know,_ Rude thought. _I don't exactly converse with him over coffee._

"Answer the question!"

Rude lifted his chin, but said nothing.

"Fine. Maybe if I-"

Electricity hit Fawke hard, sending him flying backwards, _through_ the window at the back of the room. The guards lifted their guns moments too late, and soon bolts of electricity took them down as well.

Reno walked through the door, weapon in hand, a smug smirk on his face. "Playing dead works far too well."

* * *

Rude's fist was practically leaving cracks in the glass as he took a swig of his beer. He'd been reprimanded, nearly demoted, and had his pay docked for his irresponsible behavior. And since Reno was a rookie, all he'd gotten was a stern talking-to.

It wasn't fair. Rude always followed the rules. If it weren't for that demon incarnate, the plan would've gone off without a hitch. Rude couldn't wait for the President to change his mind, to be given a new partner, one that was actually worth the time and effort to work with and wasn't so damn distracted by every shiny object on the side of the road.

"Someone told me you'd be here," a familiar voice said, but Rude didn't turn around to face the speaker.

"Go away."

"I just came to say sorry," Reno said, pulling up a chair. Rude looked skeptical.

"Sorry? You got me a strike on my record, a pay cut, and a lost chance at promotion, and you're _sorry_?"

"Um…yeah."

Rude snorted, taking another long drink. He wasn't nearly drunk enough for this.

"Come on, let me make it up to you," Reno said, motioning for the bartender. "I'll buy you a drink. A few drinks. How's that?"

Rude scowled, but didn't object. Free alcohol was free alcohol.

And soon enough, he was completely plastered. It didn't take much for the charismatic redhead to get him drinking far too much, to the point of being unable to remember why he'd been mad in the first place. Also to the point of passing out.

The last thing Rude heard as the alcohol shut down his mind was the sound of a razor turning on, his ears ringing with that awful buzzing sound.


	2. Chapter 2

"With all due respect, sir…I would like to request a new partner."

President Shinra chuckled, leaning back in his chair. "Why might this be?"

"It's…not a good fit. He's causing an unintentional drop in my work performance."

"Oh, nonsense. You're the first one to have success with him!"

"Success?" Rude repeated incredulously. "He botched a mission beyond repair, directly disobeyed orders, and then he took advantage of my drunken state to _shave my head_. What part of that is success?"

"All of his other partners walked out on him. Well, except for that one unfortunate individual…regardless, you're exactly what he needs. Stability."

"He's going to get us both killed," Rude said, crossing his arms over his chest. "He's reckless, immature, and doesn't think about the consequences of his actions."

President Shinra sighed, and then leaned forward on his desk. "Rude…you are a Turk. One with an unblemished record, for that matter."

Rude snorted. "Until now."

"So, are you telling me that you can't handle an assignment as simple as this? Are you telling me that you are incapable of controlling a rookie, incapable of teaching? Because these things are important. A Turk who could not do these things when ordered to…well, he would not remain a Turk for much longer."

Rude recognized the threat. He straightened up, his hands falling to his sides. "I'm perfectly capable, sir. I apologize for questioning your decision."

"Very good. Do you have any more questions before you receive your next assignment?"

"No, sir."

"Excellent," President Shinra said, sliding a folder across the desk to Rude. "I will be attending a convention tonight, one of the utmost importance. There will be a formal ball, followed by the negotiations. You and your partner are expected to attend both the ball and the meeting as my bodyguards. Tseng will be in charge of the operation."

Rude picked up the folder and saluted. "I will read through this immediately, sir."

President Shinra smirked. "And if all goes well, your pay cut and that scar on your record from yesterday's fiasco might just…disappear."

Rude felt a rush of hope go through him- until he remembered that he had to take Reno. "I'll do my best, sir."

"And you'll make sure Reno does the same," Shinra said sternly. "Dismissed."

Rude saluted again and quickly left the room. This was his chance to prove that he wasn't being thrown off by some boisterous redhead, his chance to put things back the way they had been. All he had to do was keep Reno under control for one night, one simple mission.

He headed down the hallway to the elevator, taking it down three floors and stepping out of it to the left. He had to ignore the cat calls and snickering as he made his way past the other offices. It seemed that everyone in the corporation had heard what happened, and everyone had been praising Reno for his genius all day.

It certainly didn't help that Rude was now sharing an office with the object of his fury.

When he entered the office, he wasn't surprised to see Reno sitting back in his chair with his feet propped up on the desk. He had a thick black marker in his hand, drawing on something clipped to a clipboard. Rude sat down at the desk across from him, setting the folder down and opening it. He hesitated, sighed, then reached across both desks and shoved Reno's feet off the desk.

The redhead yelped and the clipboard and marker went clattering to the floor, and that's when Rude saw what Reno had been doodling on.

"What the hell?" he said angrily, bending down and taking the card off the clipboard. "This is my ShinRa ID! What did you do to it?"

Reno shrugged, pulling Rude's folder across the desk to look at it. "It was boring."

Rude felt his anger building. Reno had scribbled a long beard and an afro on his ID picture, and over the ShinRa logo was written "RENO WAS HERE, YO".

"Can I leave you alone…for ten seconds…without you _destroying _something?" he growled, and Reno gave him a grin.

"You wouldn't let me come with you. What was I supposed to do?"

_Don't lose it. Don't hit him. You'll be demoted. Keep your cool._

"Excuse me for a moment," Rude said, his voice low, and then he stood up and left the room. A scream of rage and a crunching sound followed as Rude put his fist _through_ a wall, startling everyone in the hallway into silence. He took a few deep breaths, straightened his jacket, and then walked back in the room.

"Hey, Rude, hope you don't mind. I drank your coffee."

Once again, Rude paused, then left the room.

* * *

Reno couldn't have been more obvious about his boredom if he tried.

He was leaning against the wall, his rod tapping his leg impatiently as President Shinra discussed the cost of oil with three other debutantes. Rude was used to such duties; he simply stood, scanning the room for any suspicious people.

"So…do we have to do this often?" Reno finally asked, looking up at Rude.

"Not that often."

"Good. Cause it's really, really boring."

"You just have to learn some patience."

"Patience is overrated."

Rude snorted and almost laughed, glancing over at the red-headed Turk. "Look at it this way, Reno; at least they didn't put us on desk duty for messing up."

"Yeah, that'd be worse. But this is still pretty bad, yo."

The President glanced at Rude, and Rude nodded. Everything was still all clear.

"Are we allowed to hit the buffet?" Reno asked, eyeing a display of strawberries hungrily.

"No."

"Damn. What time is it?"

"Almost nine."

Reno groaned in frustration. Rude ignored him; he didn't want to encourage the younger Turk's antics.

That was when he spotted it; a man standing apart from the rest of the people, still wearing his coat, just watching the crowd. Just that- watching. Reno took notice of the subtle change in Rude's stance, and he followed Rude's gaze and spotted the man as well.

"Brown jacket."

"Yeah."

"We should do something."

Rude shook his head. "Just wait. He'll give himself away."

"Or he'll do what he came to do before we can get him."

Rude stiffened. If Reno did anything brash, it could mean the loss of that second chance- and another permanent strike on his record, let alone getting it clean. "Reno…that's an order. Stay put."

"Since when could you give me _orders_? I thought we were partners."

"You're a rookie, I have to-"

"A rookie?" Reno repeated, his eyes flashing dangerously. "Listen, I didn't get where I am by being a step below everyone else. I can handle a stupid guy in an ugly coat."

Fast as that, Reno was off, heading across the room. Rude knew that if he tried to stop him it would just attract more attention to a possibly harmless situation. Instead, Rude followed slowly, trying to appear casual. He was hoping to catch up discreetly and stop Reno before he completely destroyed whatever chances Rude had left.

Unfortunately, Reno appeared anything but casual. And when the man in the brown coat saw the Turk headed for him, he put his fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly.

It was pandemonium. Half the guests in the ballroom were suddenly armed, but just as quickly Tseng and another Turk were by the President, pulling him toward the door.

Rude met Reno's eyes from halfway across the room. As the gunfire started, they both knew what they had to do: protect the president. They jumped into the fray, ready to make sure no one got near ShinRa Corporation's leader.

Even as bullets cut through the air, Rude couldn't help but notice Reno. The redhead fought with a natural ease that made him seem more than human. He was intense, much faster than Rude, and he looked completely comfortable as he fought. Even when he got knocked down, it became an acrobatic, graceful action, and he was back on his feet in seconds. Occasionally Rude would catch glimpses of the other Turk using the walls and the decorative pillars to his advantage- climbing them and rebounding off them, among other things. It was like watching a complicated dance.

For a moment, Rude was envious. Reno made every punch and kick appear effortless.

Of course, in watching Reno, Rude got distracted from the fight. A bullet ricocheted off his sunglasses, cracking the lenses and leaving him disoriented. He recovered, taking the ruined glasses off and keeping them in hand as he turned his attention back to the fight at hand.

By the time the President was to safety, Rude and Reno were in the last of the battle. Most of the opposition had fled or fallen, and the few that were still fighting were losing ground- especially now that Reno had begun using his rod to shock them into submission. It was only minutes before the ballroom was completely silent and empty, save for the wreckage and the unconscious bodies laying all over the floor.

"Wow…now that, that was a party," Reno said breathlessly, looking up at Rude with an excited glee in his eyes. It took a few moments for it to hit Rude- this had most definitely not gone well. His record was unfixable for sure.

"Why in the hell do you have to screw everything up?" he asked harshly, stepping over a couple unconscious bodies to where Reno stood.

"Hey, I didn't screw anything up. You saw that guy-"

"That guy who we could've apprehended _quietly_? Yeah, I saw him," Rude snapped. "You're a complete mess, kid. I don't know who decided to give you the title 'Turk', but you'll _never_ earn it. You'll never be a Turk, just a sorry mistake."

That remark seemed to hit home. Reno stared at him, and for a moment it was just pure shock- then it shifted into anger.

"At least I'm not a stuck up prick who can't do anything outside the rule book," he shot back, his fists clenching, now holding his rod with a white-knuckled grip. "I don't have to follow every rule of the company to make use of myself. They probably only keep you around 'cause you're a _pushover_."

That did it. Rude snapped, and he lashed out, punching Reno in the face with the hand that still held the shards of his broken sunglasses. One shard carved a gash just beside Reno's eye, and the Turk went down hard.

Breathing hard, Rude was torn for a moment between walking away or apologizing and helping his partner to his feet. Eventually, though, bitter anger won out, and Rude turned his back on Reno and walked away, broken glass crunching beneath his feet as the bloody shards of sunglasses dropped from his hand.

Tseng and another Turk were by the door- and judging by the looks on their faces, they'd seen the whole thing. Rude ignored them, and they chose to give him a wide berth as he left the room.

Reno put a hand to his face with a wince, and his fingers came away bright red with blood. Pride stung more than anything, he stumbled to his feet and left the building.

* * *

Rude didn't even bother going home from the office that night. He knew he'd never get to sleep, even with effort and a warm, comfortable bed.

Instead he stayed at ShinRa headquarters, working on the reports from that night, the reports Reno was supposed to help him with. The red-headed Turk hadn't shown up, which wasn't really surprising.

_Don't even think about missing that idiot. He needed to hear every word you said, and it was all true anyway. Wasn't it?_

"What are you still doing here?"

Rude looked up from his paperwork to see Tseng standing in the doorway. He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Couldn't sleep. Decided to get these reports done."

"Where's your partner?"

"He's not my partner. And I'd rather not know where he is."

Tseng paused, and then took a few steps into the room. "I think…you may have been a little too hard on him tonight."

"He screwed up everything," Rude insisted. "He's been nothing but trouble ever since he ended up here. I was just telling him the truth."

"Did you see him fight?"

"Yes."

"There's a lot of raw talent there."

Rude snorted. "Raw talent that he'll never have the discipline to refine."

"Listen," Tseng said softly. "This partnership, it wasn't just done for his sake. You were chosen because the president thought _you_ could learn something from _him_ as well."

"Me? Learn from him?" Rude said with a laugh. "Learn how to destroy and sabotage everything I'm involved in, you mean."

"I just think you haven't given him enough of a chance. He's still young."

Rude swallowed hard. What he'd said had been pretty harsh, especially for him. He'd just been so angry about losing that perfect record, about the cut pay…and he'd blamed it all on Reno.

Maybe he had been too hard on the new Turk.

"…Maybe I should go talk to him."

Tseng smiled. "I think you should. Give him another chance. It's the same you'd do for any other Turk."

* * *

Rude wasn't surprised to find out that Reno lived in the slums. He was shocked, however, when the redhead opened his apartment door to reveal a practically spotless apartment. Sparse, but clean.

"What do you want?" Reno asked, a bitter tone to his voice. He wore only his suit pants and the white, untucked shirt, and a white bandage across his face where Rude had sliced it open.

"May I come in?"

Reno looked at him skeptically, and then stepped back and opened the door all the way, allowing the other Turk to step inside before closing the door. He crossed his arms over his chest, staring Rude down. "Come to gloat?"

Rude shook his head. "Listen…I came to apologize."

Reno's eyebrow rose. "Apologize?"

"I feel like…well, I said a lot of things back there that I shouldn't have. I lost control of my anger, and I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for doing so."

Reno stared at Rude as if he expected it to be a prank, or something to that effect. "…How much are they paying you to do this? They takin' off that pay cut? Clearing your record?"

"None of that," Rude said. "I came to apologize on my own accord. No strings attached."

"No catches?"

"None."

Reno paused, pouring himself another shot of whiskey and downing it before looking at Rude again. "You confuse me a whole lot, yo."

"The feeling is mutual, I assure you," Rude replied.

Reno started to speak, when suddenly his phone began to ring. He grabbed it off the kitchen counter, flipping it open. "Reno here."

Reno listened as Rude watched on, and then he nodded. "Right. We'll be there in a few minutes."

"What was that about?" Rude asked as Reno hung up the phone.

"We're needed at the Presidential Residence. It's an emergency," Reno replied, grabbing his suit jacket. Rude cursed inwardly; they'd finally been making a bit of progress, and it gets cut short.

"Right. Let's go."


	3. Chapter 3

"Reno! Rude!"

They heard Tseng's voice the instant they stepped out of the car. He was running toward them, his normally impeccable suit rumpled and dirty.

"Where's President Shinra?" Rude immediately asked.

"He managed to barricade himself in the third floor bedroom after his guards were shot down. The enemy is headed in that direction, though, there's no telling how much longer he'll be safe."

"Have the other Turks been notified?"

"Who cares, let's just go!" Reno said anxiously, practically vibrating with excitement as he started toward the mansion. Rude sighed, giving Tseng a helpless look before following the redhead. Reno was already halfway up the stairs to the door, rod in hand, ready for a fight.

It was the kind of enthusiasm that was contagious. Rude felt as if it was his very first Turk mission all over again.

"I'll wait here for the backup and brief them on the situation," Tseng called after them.

Immediately upon entering the front doors, the fight began. The enemy certainly had more in numbers than Rude had expected, but they weren't as well trained as the Turks, by far. Rude's brute strength and Reno's speed and agility were mowing them down with relative ease.

Two floors of it, though, was taxing on their energy. By the time they got to the third floor hallway, they were both worn down, scraped, and bruised.

The third floor was unique in this vacation residence- it had a circular room in the middle of the floor, and the hallway circled around the outside of that room with floor-to-ceiling windows to the outside. Normally no one but the president was allowed up here, but this was obviously an exception.

"Well, well…if it isn't my two favorite Turks, once again."

Reno and Rude spun around, and standing at the top of the stairs was a heavily bandaged Fawke. It wouldn't have been such a matter of concern- if the man hadn't been holding a small bomb.

"Should've known I couldn't get rid of you," Reno growled, and Fawke smirked.

"I'm glad you came. Now I can get rid of both the president and you, for putting me in this state."

"I'll put you in a state," Rude snapped, and then he lifted his gun and shot Fawke square in the forehead. Reno didn't even flinch. He and Rude rushed to the body, inspecting the bomb.

"This could take out the whole floor," Rude said, turning the bomb over. "Seven seconds. Shit."

"Through the window?" Reno asked.

"Too light. It might detonate on impact or just bounce off the glass."

Reno got a determined look on his face, his gaze traveling from the bomb, to the bedroom door, and then to Rude. "Then…I'll make it heavier."

With four seconds to go, Reno took the bomb from Rude, who'd just begun to realize what the redhead was planning to do. Reno held the bomb tight against his stomach, and then took a running leap _through_ one of the windows. Once through, he threw the bomb as hard as he could while airborne.

"Reno! _No!_"

The bomb went off.

Rude was thrown back against the wall, and every window on that side of the mansion shattered with the force of the blast. Rude blacked out for a few moments, and when he came to, his ears were ringing and he was seeing double.

_Reno. Have to find Reno._

He pulled himself to his feet, barely able to put one foot in front of the other; he couldn't seem to find his balance. He headed for the stairs, and by the time he got there, he was at least able to walk without feeling as if he was about to fall over. He knew he could be fired for not attending to the president's needs first, but it didn't matter right now. Reno had saved them both. He had to find Reno.

He stumbled more than once going down the stairs, and even fell once. The shock wave from the bomb alone was enough to put an average man in a coma. Reno had been too close, for sure.

_No._

Tseng was at the bottom of the stairs on the first floor about to head upstairs when Rude reached the bottom. His eyes widened when he saw Rude's state.

"Rude, the president, is he okay?"

Rude shrugged, pushing past Tseng. "Have to find Reno."

"What happened up there?"

Once again, Tseng was ignored. Rude finally made it outside, forcing his legs to carry him around to the west side of the mansion. He could hear footsteps behind him, and Tseng yelling orders for the other Turks to go upstairs and attend to the president.

"Rude! Rude, wait!"

_Can't wait. My partner, he's dying. Dead._

Rude found Reno in the grass beside the house, grass that was now littered with pieces of the bomb and broken glass. The redhead wasn't moving, and the blades of grass around him were sprinkled and smeared with dark red blood. Rude dropped to his knees next to the body, looking for any signs of life. Anything.

At first, there was nothing. Guilt suddenly hit Rude, so hard that he nearly broke down right then and there. It was his fault that Reno felt like he had to prove himself. His fault he hadn't known what to do with the bomb in time. His fault, all of it, and he'd never shown anything but malice for the Turk when he was working so hard just to have a _partner_.

"Reno," Rude said, the word cracking in his throat. He reached out and touched Reno's face, expecting nothing but cold skin, chilled by death.

Suddenly, Reno shifted. Rude looked on in disbelief as the young Turk moaned and shifted, blinking a few times. Tseng caught up to Rude, kneeling on the other side of Reno.

"Reno, can you hear me?" Tseng asked. There was no reply from Reno- the young man's eyes fell shut again.

Rude wasn't surprised. He was just beginning to get the ringing out of his ears, and he hadn't been as close to the blast as Reno. The blood trickling out of Reno's ears made it pretty clear that he would need some specialized healing to regain his hearing, if he did at all.

"We have to get him to help," Rude said, carefully picking Reno up. As he stood up, it honestly scared him how limp his partner was- it was like picking up a life-sized doll. "Where's the helicopter?"

"This way," Tseng said, starting to walk at a brisk pace. Rude followed, glancing down at the half-conscious Turk in his arms.

_And I thought he didn't have it in him to be a Turk._

_

* * *

_

Two weeks. Two weeks of healing, of sitting by the bed of an unconscious Turk, and it had been tearing away at Rude's sanity.

But now he stood by the infirmary room door, a cup grasped tightly in his hand, and he wasn't sure he could bring himself to go in. He just stared at the door, a part of him wondering if the doctor had lied. If he would go in only to find Reno still comatose.

He gathered his wits and slowly pushed the door open, stepping into the sun-lit room. Reno was propped up with a few thick pillows, and unsurprisingly fiddling with the TV remote.

"There's nothing good on TV anymore. Just news. I hate the news," he complained, switching the TV off. His tone was as if nothing had happened, as if he hadn't almost died and been in a coma for two weeks.

"I brought you coffee," Rude said, setting the cup down on the bedside table. "Three creams, three sugars."

Reno raised an eyebrow.

"…I watched you make it before our second mission."

That seemed to appease Reno's curiosity. He said a quick 'thank you' and took the cup, taking a long drink of the barely-coffee-concoction. Rude hesitated, studying the floor for a few long moments before speaking.

"Reno…thank you."

Reno set the cup down. "The bomb thing? Just doin' my job."

"You could've been killed."

"But I wasn't."

Rude smirked. "And that's what makes you a Turk."

Reno looked up at Rude, his expression one of surprise. "So I'm worthy of the title now, oh great Turk master?"

"You little smartass. If you weren't my partner, I'd kick your ass."

The door suddenly opened, and a soldier stuck his head in the room. "Rude, President Shinra would like to see you in his office immediately."

Rude nodded, assuming this was about the mission. About him leaving the president in that bedroom and going after Reno instead. Fully prepared to defend his actions, he turned and started toward the door.

"Have fun, partner. Thanks for the coffee," Reno said from behind him as he walked out.

He made his way from the medical wing to President Shinra's office, where the president's secretary quickly showed him inside. The door shut behind him, and Rude took a deep breath as the president looked up from the papers on his desk.

"Ah, Rude! I heard that Reno woke up today."

"He did, sir. He's doing quite well."

"Good, good," Shinra said, pulling a paper out of the folder in the middle of his desk. "I couldn't help but notice his superb performance on this mission. I believe he's quite prepared for any Turk responsibilities I should assign to him."

"I would agree wholeheartedly, sir."

"And since that is the case, I have an offer to make you."

Rude's eyebrows rose. "An offer, sir?"

President Shinra slid the paper across the table to Rude. "One of my best officers is being promoted. He's going to become a Turk. Seven years combat experience, twelve years of unblemished service to the company…he's quite capable of handling the duties of a Turk. I remembered that you were unhappy with your assignment, and now that you have finished the task at hand, I'm offering you the opportunity to switch to a new partner. A veteran."

Rude glanced down at the paper, a profile on the man Shinra was speaking of. This was what, two days before, he would've prayed and begged for. Today, though, he didn't even read it.

"With all due respect, sir…I would accept no other partner than the one I have right now."

Shinra looked surprised- and then his expression changed to pleased. "I'm surprised to hear that. However, considering your own record of service to the corporation…I will accept your request."

"Thank you, sir."

"This means you will continue to have the responsibility of keeping Reno in line and out of trouble, for the most part. It will be a permanent partnership until one of you is physically incapable of fulfilling your duties."

"I understand, sir, and I accept that responsibility."

Shinra smiled. "I admire your courage. Then, it is done," he said, and with a kind of finality that made Rude's heart skip a beat, the president took the partnership contract he'd had written up, crossed out the veteran's name, and wrote in Reno's, stamping his official seal beside the correction. "Sign here," he said, pointing to a bottom line on the document.

Rude signed.

* * *

"You're late."

"My cat got out, yo. Had to catch it," Reno said, straightening his suit jacket as he walked up to Rude.

"You don't have a cat."

"Oh…well then, I guess the neighbors will be wondering where little Shiva went pretty soon then, huh?"

"You overslept."

"You make that sound like a _bad_ thing."

Rude rolled his eyes, starting to walk. "Come on. We've got a building to blow up."

"Oh, about that bomb…"

Rude froze. "Don't you say it. Don't you dare say it."

"Okay, I won't."

"…_You lost the bomb?_"

"Why do you have to make everything sound so drastic? I temporarily misplaced it. No worries, it'll turn up, yo."

Rude was about to snap at Reno when he noticed something. His face. There was now an exact copy of the scar Rude had given him, right on the other side of his face.

"Reno…did you get a tattoo?"

Reno grinned. "Oh, yeah! See? It's all…what's the word…"

"…Symmetrical?"

"Yeah, symmetrical!"

"Nothing else about you is symmetrical."

"There you go again with that 'glass half empty' stuff."

"…Let's go find that bomb."

* * *

"Wow…I had no idea there was so much behind it."

Rude nodded, smirking at Cloud. "Your boyfriend was a handful from the very start."

"I guess that shouldn't surprise me."

A pair of arms suddenly wound around Cloud's shoulders from behind, and Reno bent down to nuzzle at Cloud's neck. "I'm horny. There's a bed upstairs."

Cloud chuckled. "You're insatiable."

"If that means I'm getting sex tonight, then hell yes I'm insaptable."

"Insatiable."

"Whatever."

Cloud rolled his eyes, and then shrugged at Rude. "Duty calls. I'll give you a good story next time."

"Not involving anything about tonight, I hope," Rude said, eyeing Reno with amusement as the redhead nibbled at Cloud's earlobe. Reno then pulled Cloud to his feet, his patience wearing thin quickly, as usual. Cloud allowed Reno to pull him toward the stairs, and then he glanced back at Rude.

"Hey, Reno…how'd you get those marks on your face, anyway?" Cloud asked as he was dragged away.

"These? Oh, that all started when this huge carnivorous mutant chocobo got set loose at headquarters. You wouldn't believe it…"

Rude laughed, turning back to his drink. Liar, thief, impatient, reckless, drunkard, nympho, impulsive…

Reno. All of the above.


End file.
